


In Memory

by dreadwyrmspawn



Series: FFXIV Write 2019 [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alcohol, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tumblr: FFXIVwrite2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 16:24:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20603768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreadwyrmspawn/pseuds/dreadwyrmspawn
Summary: Fox decided the best way to remember his mother who died in the calamity was to take her name.Prompt 10# Foster fill for#FFXIVWrite2019





	In Memory

The mood was somber, another year had passed and most were still struggling to find themselves again. The pain was raw with loss and anger seethed just below the surface. Shouting would sometimes break out if a Flame walked into the Quicksand still in uniform, even sometimes without. Blame had to be placed somewhere, and it was easy for most citizens to say the soldier didn’t do enough. But Rua'a knew the warrior lost even more.

A glass clinked down on the bar next to him and Rua'a tilted his head to the sound. The alcohol had sunk deep into him by now, the snug blanket of warmth it provided feeling safe. The patron beside him looked worse for wear.

“Fox, are you going through with this?”

““Rua'a.”” He corrected as his gaze went back to his empty glass. He shouldn’t order another, but he does anyway. Home is only a few steps away. “It’s “Rua'a” now, Thancred.”

The blond nodded, “My apologies.” His words were slurred together, “but answer my question.”

“Of course,” was half muttered into his drink, “I feel my sanity slipping away by staying here, Limsa will be good for me.”

Thancred laid his head down next to his mug, the cool surface numbing his feelings. He wanted to say, “you’ll be abandoning your mentors. Your friends.” even a possible “ _ me _ ” would have sneaked it’s way in, but his protests stayed unvoiced.

“You drink too much.”

Rua'a snorted as he looked back over at the crumpled up hyur next to him, “it wasn’t a race.”

Thancred stood up, a little too quickly judging by the extra time it took him to find his balance. Rua'a sighed as he finished his drink in one shot before he helped Thancred, holding his waist, with an arm slug over his shoulder. “Got it?”

Thancred muttered something as he found his balance, “yeah, yeah.” He took his first step forward and began to walk without fail. “Come back with me?”

“We’re closer to my place, come on.” Rua'a said as he dropped a few thousand gil on the bar before walking toward the south exit.

–

Thancred laid with his head on Rua'a’s chest, the fog in his mind dissipating as the alcohol lost its grip. There was a gentle vibration flowing through the miqo'te, relaxing everything and sobering him.

“Are you purring?” Thancred asked with a giggle, propping himself up on an arm to watch as the crimson blush darkened his face.

His tail palpated against the mattress, “shut up,” he huffed, his nose up turned as he refused to make eye contact, “it will help you heal.”

There was a beat of strained silence as Thancred stared down at Rua'a. It tugged at them both, rearing memories neither of them wanted.

“You need to heal, too.”

“I’m fine, Thancred.” His voice was short and cutting as a hand reached out, pushing squarely at Thancred’s chest to remove him from his sight. The conversation hadn’t changed in five years.

“I should have tried harder to make sure she stayed inside.”

“She wouldn’t even listen to  _ me _ .” and “Besides, you were a little preoccupied.”

“Doesn’t mean you had to watch your mother die.”

But it was different this time as Thancred rolled with the push, falling to his back and staring up at the ceiling in the dark.

“I understand your desire to change your name now.”

Rua'a’s tail twitched as he rolled over, curling into Thancred’s side; with a heavy sigh his ears dropped, “As a Keeper it’s the only way I can honor her now in death.” 

The hyur’s eyes slid shut, without the extra distractions he felt a weight to the soul next to him. He jolted, startled, before looking down at Rua'a. The weight didn’t feel malicious, in fact it had a gentle touch. And Thancred settled back down onto the bed before it could register with Rua'a to ask what was wrong.

“Are you taking the ship out of Vesper Bay tomorrow?”

Rua'a nodded before nuzzling closer to his lover’s chest. “Yes, that was the plan.”

“I have business of my own in Vesper Bay I must see to; I will at least accompany you that far, if that is alright.”

Rua'a let out a lazy chuckle as sleep started to take hold. His dreams and reality started to mix together, feeling light and maybe finally a little drunk.

“Sure, whatever you want. You can’t hold my hand the whole way, you know.”

A smile slipped across Thancred’s face as he tilted his head to plant a gentle kiss to Rua'a’s crown. “No, but I will still try.” The thought of Rua'a going off into the world alone was a hard one to ignore. There was a constant worry in the forefront of his mind, no matter how often he tried to bury it with busy work.

Rua’s spirit would have Thancred’s head in a moment (and he knew it too) if her only son were to meet an unfavorable end.

**Author's Note:**

> Rua was a highlander merchant who has pull with members of the syndicate. She had fostered Fox since he was an infant after his tribe was decimated in a forest fire. Her status provided him with a rather privileged upbringing. She died during the calamity and it's something that still greatly effects Rua'a.


End file.
